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Private equity firms buy stakes in accounting firms because they offer recurring, compliance-driven revenue, a fragmented market to consolidate, and room to grow advisory work. Activity is at a record: Capstone Partners counted 194 accounting firm deals in 2025, and in 2026 Crowe, Eide Bailly and others agreed PE deals.
Private equity in accounting began in earnest in 2021, when TowerBrook Capital Partners invested in EisnerAmper. Since then, firms including Grant Thornton, Baker Tilly and Citrin Cooperman have taken private equity investment, and in 2026 the trend reached some of the largest firms in the country. This article explains why investors are interested, how the deals are structured, and what it means for firms and clients.
According to Capstone Partners data reported by CPA Practice Advisor, there were a record 194 accounting firm transactions in 2025, up 26% from 2024. Financial buyers, mainly private equity, accounted for 54.8% of deals, up from 38.9% a year earlier. Capstone counted another 62 deals in 2026 through its July report.
Notable deals reported by the trade press include:
Accounting firms earn much of their revenue from work clients must do every year: tax returns, audits, reviews and compliance filings. That makes revenue more predictable than in many other industries and less sensitive to the economic cycle.
Revenue features that attract PE investment:
Predictable cash flow supports the debt used in many private equity deals and funds further acquisitions.
Thousands of small and mid-sized CPA firms operate independently across the US. That fragmentation gives PE-backed platforms a large pool of acquisition targets for "roll-up" strategies, where a platform firm buys smaller firms and integrates them.
Benefits of consolidation:
New Mountain Capital, for example, invested in Citrin Cooperman in 2021 and in Grant Thornton in 2024, and is now funding Grant Thornton's acquisition of CBIZ.
Many firm owners are approaching retirement without internal successors who can buy them out. A private equity deal can give partners liquidity and an exit path, which is one reason sellers are willing to talk to investors.
Investors see technology as a way to raise margins. Automation and AI can handle data entry, document processing, reconciliations and parts of audit testing, freeing professionals for review and advisory work.
Areas where PE-backed firms are investing:
Capstone's research found that investors now give more weight to AI readiness, automation, organic growth and advisory capability when they assess firms (CPA Practice Advisor).
Partnerships traditionally distribute most of their profits each year, which makes large technology investments hard to fund. PE capital can pay for:
State laws require licensed CPA firms to be majority-owned by CPAs, and independence rules limit who can own an audit practice. Private equity deals therefore usually use an alternative practice structure (APS). The firm splits into two entities:
Recent deals follow this model. After Crowe's deal with KKR, Crowe LLP remains a licensed CPA firm for attest work while Crowe Advisory LLC provides tax and advisory services (Journal of Accountancy). Eide Bailly's deal uses the same split between Eide Bailly LLP and Eide Bailly Advisory LLC (CPA Practice Advisor).
What the structure allows:
Investors want to expand advisory work that typically earns higher margins than compliance. Common growth areas include:
PE investment gives firms money to grow faster than retained earnings would allow:
Citrin Cooperman, for example, made a series of acquisitions under PE ownership and attracted a second PE owner in 2025.
PE-backed firms can offer equity participation to a wider group of staff than the traditional partner model, along with more investment in training and technology. These are important tools in a profession facing a long-running talent shortage.
Accounting firms generate cash, need relatively little capital investment, and can be combined into larger platforms. Investors aim to make returns through operational improvements, acquisitions, and a higher valuation multiple when the larger platform is sold.
Valuation multiples have risen as investors compete. An Accounting Today analysis described EBITDA multiples of around 5-7x as good, 7-8x as very good, and 9-10x (or as much as 11x) as outstanding. Exit routes include sale to another PE fund, as at Citrin Cooperman, continuation vehicles, as at EisnerAmper, or sale to a strategic buyer.
For context on firm economics, the 2025 National MAP Survey reported median net remaining per partner of $252,663 across all firms (fiscal 2024). Partners weighing an offer often compare the deal value with that income stream.
Private equity is not without risk for firms, staff and clients:
Private equity is likely to keep changing how accounting services are delivered and priced. Expected effects include:
Smaller independent firms will face competition from better-funded platforms, but also more offers for their practices and more choices about how to grow.
Private equity firms buy into accounting because the profession combines recurring revenue, a fragmented market, succession pressure and room to grow advisory and technology-driven services. The 2025 record deal count and the large 2026 deals at Crowe, Eide Bailly and Grant Thornton show the trend is now reaching the largest firms.
For partners, the key questions are whether outside capital fits the firm's goals, how the alternative practice structure will work in practice, and what the investor expects over the life of the deal. Understanding these dynamics helps firms decide whether to sell, partner or stay independent.
Related read: private equity.
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